SuiteImpact Volunteer Profile: Getting to Know the Wild Side of Roman Bukary

Our SuiteImpact Volunteer Profile series highlights the unique ways that NetSuite employees choose to use their 16 hours of Volunteer Time-Off.

An avid hiker, Roman Bukary, VP of Account Management for Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution at NetSuite, says it was the idea of getting lost on the trails that inspired him to sign up as a search and rescue volunteer in Marin County, a nature lover’s paradise just 20 minutes north of San Francisco, California.

Part of the Sherriff’s office, Marin County Search & Rescue is a completely volunteer run organization. One of 20 mountain rescue teams in California, volunteers like Bukary search for missing people in the wilderness and provide medical care when necessary.

When he speaks about his favorite “missions,” Bukary talks about one where the team went into the forest in Mendocino County looking for a hunter who had been missing for 19 days. Because so much time had passed since the man disappeared, the rescue crew feared they might find the man dead. Instead, Bukary says, the group hiked in and found him, and were able to get him airlifted to safety to the relief of his family and friends.

Because a search and rescue mission is never planned in advance, Bukary says volunteers can be “called to a mission” in the middle of the night, or in the pouring rain. And, sometimes you work a mission in the middle of the night, only to have to go to work in the morning.

When asked how he balances a demanding job as a VP and his volunteer work, which includes missions, and bi-monthly trainings, Bukary says he sees the two as complimentary. While he could be staring at the television to relax, being out in nature “feeds his mental health.” He also says there’s something powerful about “being freaked out regularly,” whether the cause be rappelling down a 1,600-foot cliff in majestic Yosemite as part of a training or hiking into the wilderness in the middle of the night. Key to finding balance is also in the realization that he can’t accept every mission because that would impact his work and the time he’s able to spend with his family.

Other benefits of his work as a search and rescue volunteer include staying in great shape, while still being able to consume large quantities of food, a “backstage pass” into some breathtaking wilderness areas, and the chance to meet and work with an amazing group of people, including the “who’s, who” of professional mountain bikers.

Recently relocated to Denver, Bukary didn’t wait long to get involved with the search and rescue group there. When we spoke, he said he was headed on a mission that weekend to oversee a group of volunteers-in-training in the wilderness.

While we understand that not everyone can be like Bukary, dedicating such a significant amount of time to giving back, we do think his commitment to giving back is one that can inspire each one of us to take advantage of our VTO and find our own way to contribute to our local communities. Learn more about NetSuite SuiteImpact volunteer opportunities here.